Author name: Marc Alexander

Fee Clause Interpretation/Homeowner Associations: HOA Not Entitled To Fee Recovery For Fiduciary Duty Victory Because Administration Of CC&Rs Fees Clause Doesn’t Cover Fiduciary Breach Claims

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Homeowner Associations

       In Hoofman v. Pacific Crest Community Assn., Case No. B230036 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 16, 2013) (unpublished), an HOA won some breach of fiduciary claims against homeowners. However, they were denied fee recovery. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the win on the breach of fiduciary claims did not fall within the […]

Equity: Attorney Providing Affidavit Of Fault For Vacation Of Default Judgment Rightly Assessed With $12,000 Fee Order In Plaintiff’s Favor

Cases: Equity

       Plaintiff obtained an approximate $72,000 default judgment against defendants represented by an attorney who submitted an affidavit of fault to get the judgment vacated (the attorney was suspended from the practice of law). The trial court found the default had to be vacated on a mandatory basis under CCP § 473, but ordered

Class Actions/In The News . . . . AIG Attorneys Granted $15.24 Million In Fees In Shareholder Class Action Suit Against Former AIG Executives And Attorneys In Visa/MasterCard Merchant Antitrust Class Action Request $720 Million In Fees/$27 Million In Expe

Uncategorized

  AIG Former Executive Class Action.      As reported in NALFA’s Attorneys Fees Blog, U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts has approved a $115 million settlement reached by class action shareholders in In re American International Group Sec. Litig., Case No. 1:04-cv-08141 (S.D.N.Y.) against former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg and other former AIG executives. She also

Fee Clause Interpretation: Specific Performance Claim Gave Rise To Fee Entitlement Under Broadly-Worded Contractual Fees Clause

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

  $252,926.33 Fee Award Affirmed.      In Milano v. Edelson, Case No. B237971 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Apr. 11, 2013) (unpublished), buyer of a restaurant sued a seller for specific performance, deliberately electing that remedy over damages in order to get out to trial earlier. The stock purchase agreement, while lacking a “time is of

Civil Rights/POOF!: Preemption Of State Law Is Not A “Right” That Can Enforced For Purposes of Civil Rights Fee-Shifting Statute

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: POOF!

  $86,914.24 Fee/Costs Recovery Garnered By Risk Retention Group Goes POOF!      Although the federal civil rights statute (15 U.S.C. § 1988) has a broad fee-shifting statute, it does not aid a winning plaintiff if preemption of a state law is not a “right” free from state law for purposes of the civil rights fee

Intellectual Property: C.D. Cal. District Judge Refuses To Award Fee Recovery To DC Comics Under Copyright Act Fee-Shifting Provision

Cases: Intellectual Property

  Defense Did Not Transcend Bounds of Reasonableness in Advocacy Under “Relatively Green Area of Copyright Law.”      Earlier, in litigation over copyright grants relating to the Superman character, Warner’s subsidiary DC Comics won a big ruling last October 2012 precluding the estate of Superman’s co-creator from terminating a copyright grant under a contractual agreement.

Family Law: You Gotta Look At Needs-Based Factors First Before Awarding Fees To Prevailing Party In A Support Order Proceeding

Cases: Family Law

  Appellate Court Addresses Interactions Between Family Code Sections 3652 and 2030.      Hutchison v. Ajiduah, Case No. B236024 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Apr. 2, 2013) (unpublished) reminds us of an interesting interaction between Family Code sections 3652 and 2030. Under the former, the court can award prevailing party fees/costs with respect to an order

Prevailing Party: Eighth Circuit Affirms District Judge’s “No Prevailing Party” Determination When Each Side In A Beverage Dispute Won Damages On Their Respective Claims

Cases: Prevailing Party

  Implied Covenant Counterclaim Found to be “a Term” Under Contract for Fee Clause Purposes.      Two beverage bottling companies won something on their dueling claims: plaintiff won $861,000 on a contract claim while counterclaimant won $183,000 on an implied covenant counterclaim. However, as we have frequently blogged about, the attorney’s fees contest is often

Class Action/Referral Agreements: $310 Million Fee Recovery Fixed In Long-Standing Federal Antitrust Case

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Referral Agreements

       As reported by Andrew Longstreth in an April 4, 2013 post at Thomson Reuters News & Insight, N.D. Cal. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston awarded dozens of plaintiffs’ law firms $310 million in attorney’s fees in a long-running antitrust price-fixing case where over $1 billion in settlements were obtained in a dispute over

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